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Carly Pearce opened up about her healing journey as she shared why she waited so long to release a full-length record to follow 29: Written in Stone.
Pearce, 34, debuted her fourth studio album on Friday (June 7). The long-awaited project, hummingbird, arrives nearly three years after the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter released 29: Written in Stone in 2021, sharing her stories of heartache after divorce with “What He Didn’t Do,” “Next Girl,” “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” with Ashley McBryde and other tracks. Now, Pearce updates listeners about her journey of falling in love again, experiencing heartbreak again, healing and what she’s learned through it all.
“I know that it’s been almost three years since I put out a full record, and to be honest with you, I haven’t really shared with you why,” Pearce said in a video shared on Instagram shortly before hummingbird’s release. “It has been a really crazy thing to really heal. And what I mean by that is, I needed this time to figure out who I was after that chapter in my life, and this album represents so much life lived, so many things that I think if you’re on a healing journey, hopefully you’ll be able to relate to.
“I fell in love again. I put myself out there for the first time. I got my heart broken again — really bad — and then I had to deal with that,” she continued. “I gained a lot of confidence just as a person. I think I’m now able to laugh at a lot of the things that have happened in my life, and I think that’s when you really know that you’re doing good.”
Pearce said she hopes hummingbird listeners will resonate with her message of continuing to be vulnerable, and continuing to learn and grow. She said her own life is “way better now…and I’m really happy about that.” Her new collection of 14 tracks offers a glimpse into the next chapter of her life.
“I hope that you see that no matter where you’re at, you’re right on time,” Pearce said. “Don’t let anybody tell you that just because you’re not living the ‘American dream’ or ‘society’s standards’ that anything’s wrong with you. It’s OK to not have it all figured out. You can still be happy through that, and I feel like what I have learned more than anything is that God gave me a really big story. A story that, if I’m honest, I don’t know that I really wanted. But I have owned it in the last three years, and I’m proud of it, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I just can’t wait for you guys to hear hummingbird.”
Pearce’s new album also marks her first time in a producing role. She produced hummingbird with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, and is credited as a writer on 13 of the 14 tracks. The album includes previously-released and previously-teased songs like “country music made me do it,” “truck on fire,” “my place,” “fault line,” “trust issues” and “we don’t fight anymore,” featuring fellow Kentucky-born artist Chris Stapleton. The duet won the 2024 CMT Music Award in the Collaborative Video of the Year category earlier this year.
Pearce is currently on tour with Tim McGraw, on his “Standing Room Only Tour,” and gearing up to take the main stage at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest this weekend in Nashville. She recently opened up about a heart condition she developed, and explained that her performances — including “the amazing things we have going on with hummingbird” — “might look a little different” as she aims to keep her heart rate under control.
“The last few years have been a season of loss and growth, of healing and happiness. A belief that if I did the inner work, I would rebuild myself stronger than I was before, and a knowing that I have done some living and will always be unapologetic about it,” Pearce said as she first announced hummingbird on March 1. “These 14 songs incapsulate my confidence that there is light on the other side of darkness and my true love of country music.
“When you hear this album — Wherever you are on your journey, I hope it shows you that pain can be a lesson that shows you just how strong you are and what you truly deserve,” she continued. “That we can all find the ‘hummingbird’ in the midst of whatever we’re going through.”